The Stork's Nest

Fall 2005

The Fireplace!

Sept 20th:
An exciting day. Our fireplace
was delivered!

After months
and months of looking
I finally found the perfect fireplace
for this spot. Then I talked the shop
into selling me their floor model for
a significantly lower price! But this
meant that I would have to wait for
them to be finished with it.

They insulated
the chimney
and installed the stovepipe.

Next, they
slid it into place.

A perfect fit for that big wall!
Now, I can't wait to see it
"fired up"!

October 20th, 2005

Delivery of Kitchen Cabinets

After months of trying to put
off Home Depot's
delivery until we were ready, they finally
threatened to charge me storage fees
if I did not accept delivery!

So there they sit, though it
will be
many months before I get to see them
out of the box!

Oct. 22: What would I do
without my
dear children?! Here Matthew is crawling
around in the rafters, wiring the house
for speakers.

And Stephanie and Rene' helped
me
stain and finish more windows and doors.

Oct.
24: The pipe for the dam was delivered.

Oct. 30: While Heather
helped me stain more
windows, the boys worked on their treehouse.

They are building a wall so the
smaller
children will not fall from the treehouse.

Trevor, Jeremy and Kyle are hard
at work!

Trevor and Kyle are building a
seat.

Wielding a hammer takes
intense concentration!

And Kyle tries
it out!
A perfect fit!

November 5th, 2005

We finally turned on the electricity!

What a momentous
moment this was! After struggling with the
Electric
Company to satisfy their requirements for the
underground trench for the electric
lines and the water well, they finally turned on
the electricity! Unfortunately,
when we tried it out for the first time, it did
not work! But with help from Rick
and Matthew, we got it working (the outlet was
bad). Above was the
very moment when we flipped the switch for the
first time!

Since that time, Matthew has wired a few key
lights and outlets so we can
continue to work into the evenings, now that it
gets dark so early. Rick
brought me an old refrigerator so I can keep food
there
without having to continually buy ice for the
cooler.

With the weather
turning cooler, I have pressed to finish the
front door (The
temperature must be above 50 degrees to apply the
varnish.) so that I can
install the doorknob and deadbolt so the house
will be secure over the winter.

Fred and I continue to stain windows and
doors....will it ever end???

Nov. 27th:
Matthew, with help from Kyle, makes some final
adjustments so
we can pass our framing inspection and start
insulation and drywall!

Matthew and Mike
begin nailing OSB in the
ceiling of the octogon room.

Once completed, we
will nail up cedar tongue
in groove boards like we did on the ceiling
of the screened-in porch.

December 1st

Insulation

On an unseasonably
cold and snowy winter,
day, we finally got insulation in the house.

They did an
incredibly good job, stuffing
insulation in all cracks and crevices and
if the cracks were too small for insulation
they caulked it. They also caulked between
the floor and the bottom of each wall.
They even sealed around every
electric wire hole in the walls.

It was fun to see the
lake site covered in snow.

These two photos,
side by side, almost form
a panoramic view of the lake from the house.

While they did
insulation, I finished the front door, including
mounting the hardware.

December
3rd, 2005

In spite of the cold,
Dan completed the
installation of the octogon ceiling.

In time, I will be
nailing cedar to this OSB
for a finished look....but not anytime soon!